Week 3 NFL Picks: Vegas Betting Odds, Over/Under Spreads and Line Projections

The two brightest stars in the NFL will get a chance to shine in the national spotlight Monday night. 

Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson will conclude Week 3 with what is projected to be a high-scoring battle at M&T Bank Stadium. 

Kansas City's visit to Baltimore is one of four games with an over/under set at 53 points or higher. 

Sunday night's clash between the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints has the potential to outscore Monday night's showdown because of how well the Packers offense has performed through two weeks. 

While there is a high likelihood of points in Sunday night's NFC battle, the best bet could be on the spread, with the Packers as a three-point underdog. 

As of Tuesday morning, a single Week 3 game had a spread over one touchdown. Indianapolis is a 10.5-point favorite over the New York Jets. 

Week 3 NFL Schedule

All Times ET; Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Thursday, September 24

Miami at Jacksonville (-2.5) (8:20 p.m., NFL Network) (Over/Under: 47)

Sunday, September 27

Cincinnati at Philadelphia (-6.5) (1 p.m., CBS) (O/U: 46.5)

Houston at Pittsburgh (-4) (1 p.m., CBS) (O/U: 45)

Las Vegas at New England (-6) (1 p.m., CBS) (O/U: 47)

Tennessee (-2.5) at Minnesota (1 p.m., CBS) (O/U: 47)

Chicago at Atlanta (-3.5) (1 p.m., Fox) (O/U: 47.5)

Los Angeles Rams at Buffalo (-2.5) (1 p.m., Fox) (O/U: 47.5)

San Francisco (-4.5) at New York Giants (1 p.m., Fox) (O/U: 41)

Washington at Cleveland (-7) (1 p.m., Fox) (O/U: 44)

Carolina at Los Angeles Chargers (-7) (4:05 p.m., CBS) (O/U: 43.5)

New York Jets at Indianapolis (-10.5) (4:05 p.m., CBS) (O/U: 43.5)

Tampa Bay (-6) at Denver (4:25 p.m., Fox) (O/U: 43)

Detroit at Arizona (-5.5) (4:25 p.m., Fox) (O/U: 54.5)

Dallas at Seattle (-4.5) (4:25 p.m., Fox) (O/U: 55.5)

Green Bay at New Orleans (-3) (8:20 p.m., NBC) (O/U: 53.5)

Monday, September 28

Kansas City at Baltimore (-3.5) (8:15 p.m., ESPN) (O/U: 53.5)

Predictions against the spread in bold. 

Projections

Kansas City at Baltimore (Over 53.5)

A year ago, the Chiefs and Ravens met at the same stage of the season and totaled 61 points inside Arrowhead Stadium. 

Mahomes accounted for 374 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Jackson had 313 total yards and a rushing touchdown. 

The majority of the main contributors from last year's 33-28 Kansas City victory will be on the field Monday, but there are two significant additions in the backfield. 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire established himself as Kansas City's new feature back, while J.K. Dobbins is a viable second option to Mark Ingram.

Edwards-Helaire enters Monday as the only player on both teams with over 100 rushing yards at 176. Jackson is one rushing yard away from triple digits. 

If Kansas City uses the first-round pick at a high rate once again and Mahomes is able to link up with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce on a more consistent basis than Week 2, the Chiefs should be in good shape to score at a high volume.

Jackson will also rely on his tight end, Mark Andrews, who is the only Baltimore receiver with multiple touchdowns.

Baltimore may lean more on the ground game since it has run the ball on 67 occasions compared to 50 passes in two weeks. Mahomes has thrown the ball 79 times and the Chiefs have hit the ground on 56 occasions. 

If Mahomes and Jackson pick apart holes in the defenses, like they did a year ago, we could see the final score easily eclipse the current projected total.

With that in mind, it may be wise to lock in the over bet at 53.5 points now before it potentially rises in the coming days.

Green Bay (+3) at New Orleans

Aaron Rodgers has played much better than Drew Brees to open the 2020 NFL season.

Rodgers has a 67.4 completion percentage, 604 passing yards and six touchdowns, while Brees owns 472 passing yards and a trio of scores. 

In Week 2, Rodgers and Aaron Jones propelled the Packers to their second straight 40-point performance. Brees struggled to push the Saints down the field in a comeback attempt against Las Vegas. 

Brees may have to prepare for Sunday knowing he will not have Michael Thomas at his disposal for the second week in a row.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, "there is hope and even some optimism" Thomas could appear in the Superdome against the Packers. 

Since Thomas' participation is not confirmed yet, Brees must work on finding Emmanuel Sanders more after the new No. 1 wide receiver had one catch on three targets Monday night. 

The challenge facing Green Bay is playing the toughest defensive unit it has seen all season after posting over 40 points on NFC North rivals Detroit and Minnesota. 

New Orleans may find an advantage through its rushing defense that forced Josh Jacobs to work for 88 yards on 27 carries. 

But the Raiders were eventually able to break down the Saints' front seven, and if Jones does the same Sunday night on a similar volume of carries, it could be hard for the home team to keep Green Bay off the scoreboard.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.